Friction member.



W. T. BONNER.

FRICTION MEMBER.

APPLICATION FILED nun. 5,1908.

903,049. Patented Nov. 3, 1908.

" I /z/zzwzw dthnnu UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM T. BONNER, OF WASHINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA.

FRICTION MEMBER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM T. BONNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the county of Beaufort and State of NorthCarolina, have invented cer-. tainnew and useful Im rovements in Friction Members, whereof t e following is a full,

clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to friction members; and comprises a friction element composed of a plurality of layers of Wire fabric assembled and maintained under transverse compressive strain, said friction element being assembled with a holding element in such manner as to cause the edges of such layers to be exposed to form a frictional surface adapted for engagement. with a co operating friction member; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

In brakes and like frictional members in tended for exceptionally heav hitherto hardly been practice to use builtu structures of materials having a high coe icient of friction for the reason that most such materials have relatively little tensile strength and under the heavy shearing strains of a high-duty brake they soon wear or tear out. Therefore, such high duty brakes and cooperating parts are generally made of simple integral metal, the brake be ing machined to fit such coo erating part, whether wheel, hub or other e ement. This however, gives a friction with the grain instead of across the grain, as is desirable; and, moreover, the production of heat in such brakes being ordinarily great, with the increase of temperature and the correspond ing expansion of the metal, the fit tends to disappear as the work required of the brake increases; or, in other words,;the efficiency of the device diminishes with the increase of demands upon it. Furthermore, the cooperating fitted integral metal parts, if not smooth surfaced at first, soon become so, hard metals abrading and softer wearing down, thereby diminishing friction in en-' gagenients under moderate pressures and necessitating locking pressures to secure goodbreaking effects.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, strong'and eflicient friction member free of the stated disadvanta es and havin certain new advantages. --o this end, t e friction member is made of a series of strata or layers of wire fabric compressed into a block and maintained in such Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed June 5, 1908 duty, it has Patented Nov. 3, 1908.

Serial No. 436,922.

form by suitable compression means, the edgesor ends of such strata being trued off to form a friction surface. The wire fabric em loyed may be of any suitable metal, suc as steel, iron,- brass, bronze, etc., and

the fabric itself may be made in any of the ordinary ways, woven, knitted, etc. Expanded metal is less suitable. Preferably, the wire fabric is as closely woven or knitted as practicable, ordinary wire gauze being rather more open in texture than is desirable though it mayof course be used.

With a friction block or mass made in the way described, the ends of the wires running at a right or other angle to the friction surface give a friction across the rain for a cooperating friction member w ile the wires running more or less parallel to such surface serve to give lateral support to such angling wires. and revent lateral displacement or brushing w atever the duty imposed on the brake or other friction member. By assembling the several layers or strata under heavy pressure and maintaining this compression 1n the finished article, the angling wires are further fixed against dis lacement while the block or mass as a who e is given sufficient mechanical strength to withstand any shearing strain that is likely to be given in highduty braking. Obviously, Whatever the wear on such a friction surface as is described, the

surface will always present a cross-grain to the cooperating friction member, and the coefficient of fraction on such a surface being very high, any desired de cc of frictional engagernent may be secure beween no-engagement and lockin en agement something which is not pra'cticab c with machined fric tion members.

My improved friction member is particularly desirable for such severe duty as in auproportionately the engagement while the adually increased as 1s e sired, every ad it on of pressure increasing view on an enlarged scale of a wire-gauze or removed andthe bolts sleeve 2, keyed to shaft 3,

block itself is mechanically strong eiiou' h to stand any shearin stress which is like y to be applied. The evice is, however, equally well adapted to lighter work and may be used in any relation where frictional engagement is desired, as in friction gear pu e s and rollers, car wheels, driving wheels, clutches, gripping devices, etc. In braking devices, either the braking face of the element in motion or the face of the braking element proper may be provided with my new device.

In the accom anying illustration I have shown, more or less diagrammatically, sundry embodiments of m invention out of the many ossible.

In t showing, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a brake s 001 or hub; Fig. 2 is asimilar view of another orm; Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the structure of Fig. 1 taken alon line y-y of that figure; Fig. 4 shows a pair 0 frictlon clutches engaging on flat faces; Fig. 5 is a vertical section of one of the elements of Fig. 4 on line :cac; Fi 6 shows a car wheel provided with a bra 'ng element according to the present invention; Fig. 7 shows a brake s 001 or a roller and brake both built up of laminated wire fabric; Fig. 8 is a wire fabric annulus showing the mutual support afforded by the wires for the present use; Fig. 9 is a view of a built-up car wheel having a tread according to the present invention; Fig. 10 is a view of a coned brake sleeve engaging a coned shaft; and Fig. 11 is an end elevation of the rear end of either Fig. 1 or Fig. 2.

Referring first to the showin of Fig 1, this shows a friction sleeve, in icated as a whole by reference character 1, mounted on a this shaft being one which it is desirable to brake. It may, for instance, be an axle of an automobile. The friction sleeve consists of a number of wire-fabric annuli 4, (for the sake of clearness illustration shown as woven wire gauze of exaggerated coarseness of mesh) held under compression between fixed collar 5 and follower 6 by rivets 7, and is made by sli ping the desired number of annuli over s eeve 2 against 5, puttin on the follower, compressing the assemb age in a hydraulic press and rivetin while under compression. Or collar, annu and follower may be bolted together while still in the press, the assemblage successively removed andreiplaced by rivets. The friction sleeve so ma e has itsouter surface turned-down to a true cylinder in a lathe. Element 8 represents a simple strap brake adapted to engage the frieties sleeve. A

'g. 2 represents the same structure modified to give a double braking surface, as for iction use of both a power brake and a hand brake on an automobile. In this figure, the

follower 6 is a simple ring and half or more of the wire gauze or fabric annuli are similarly cut out, permitting braking element 9 an interior engagement. A similar follower ring, 6, is used to assemble and support the wire fabric beyond the cut-away ortion.

In Fig. 3; the elements shown are t e same as in Fig. 1, element 8 being shown as a simple form 0 strap brake. 1

In Figs. 4 and 5, the friction surface is disklike, elements 10 and 11 representing driven and drivi shafts, if the structure shown be used as a c utch, or driving shaft and braking member if the structure be used as a brake. The two shafts shown areeach provided with a platelike enlargement, respectively marked 12 and 13, carrying members having frictional engagement on their faces. These elements, as shown, have semi-annular collars, 14 and 15, 14 acting as a follower and 15 as a fixed collar containing spirals (see Fig. 5) or annuli 16, of wire fabric, held under compressive tension by rivets 17. A long strip of wire gauze (see Fig. 5) may be helically. wound about shaft 11 under great tension, riveted while still under tension and the face trued off in a lathe. Holding elements or semi-annular collars 14 and 15 may be omitted, but are desirable. v

Fig. 6 shows an ordina wheel 18 having brake 19 cooperating wi its tread. This brake consists of holding element 20 containing a built-up block of wire-fabric elements 21, secured under compressive tension by rivets 22. These elements may be, as shown, crescent shaped, and are assembled in the manner described for the annuli of Fig. 1, the concave brak' surface being afterwards trued by any suitable tool.

7 shows a section of a rotary element 23, such as a friction roller, and a brake shoe 24, both built up of assembled layers or strata of wire fabric.

Fig. 8 shows one of the annuli of Fig. 1 on a somewhat larger scale, showing orifices 25 for bolts or rivets and also the mutual su port afforded each other by the wires of the fabric in this use.

Fig. 9 shows a drive or other wheel 26, running on track rail .27. This wheel is composed of fia'ngedbody portion 28, axle 29, assembled annular wire fabric layers 30, forming a friction surface at their edges for the tread of the wheel, movable follower ring 31 and rigets 32 for securing and maintaining compression of said layers.

Fig. 10 shows a simple form of friction brake, a series of wire fabric rings bei secured to collar 33 and follower 34 by rivets 35 and internal] shaped to form aconical cavity engaging he coned end 360? shaft 37, engagement being secured by toggle joint means 38.

. In all the forms of the friction element shown, will be seen that the friction surface is formed by the ends of the wires of the wirefabric lying at a right or other: angle to such surface, while these wires are braced. and se cured in position by the crossing wires and. also by the compressive strain on the whole body exercised by the rivets or bolts, acting in opposition to the natural resiliency of the fabric layers. Cross friction. is therefore secured and however much the friction surface may wear down, the same will always be true. The built-up structure being all metal and shearing stresses being opposed by the great tensile strength. of the material, it has a long life and is substantiall r as strong as an integral. metal device while havin far superior frictional properties.

ile the described wire fabric friction element after forming may be impregnated with cementing and filling material, such as india rubber, vulcanized after impregnation, this is hardl necessary or desirable with the preferable'c ose-wovcn or knitted wire fabrics.

Preferably, the degree of hydraulic pres sure employed in unitin the wire fabric layers should be rather hig i; sufiiciently high to mash flat the several layers and unite their lateral faces by a kind of interlocking contact; and this high degree of compression should be maintained by the rivets, bolts or other uniting means.

1. A. friction clement com rising a series of parallel, contacting layers 0 wire fabric, the exposed edges of said layers being trned and forming a friction surface.

2. A. friction eleinen t comprising a series of parallel, contacting layers of wire fabric under transverse coin iiression, the exposed. edges of said layers being trucd. and forming a friction surface.

3. A friction element comprising a series of parallel contacting layers of wire fabric un der transverse compression and a holding clement for said layers, the exposed edges of said layers being trued and formin a friction surface.

4. A. friction element comprising a series of parallel, contacting annuli of wire fabric, a

olding element on each side of the composite annulus so formed and extending through the annulus and holding elements to secure them together under transverse compression, the ex osed edges of said annuli together forming a fi iction surface.

5. A cylindrical friction element comprising a cylinder comprising parallel. contacting layers of wire fabric and means holding said layers under transverse compression, the edges of said layers forming a circumferential friction surface.

6. A brakin element comprising a shaft, and a series of layers of wire fabric in parallel contacting relation mounted thereon, the exposed edgcs of said layers being trued and constituting a friction surface.

7. In a brake, the combination of a braking element and an element to he braked, one of said elements being provided with. a series of arallel, contacting layers of wire fabric an the exposed edges of said layers constituting a friction surface in cooperative relationship with the other element.

8. In a brake, the combination of a braking element with an element to be braked, sa1d latter element carrying a series of parallel, contacting layers of wire auze having their exposed edges trued and ormed into a friction surface in cooperative relationship with said braking element.

9. In a brake, the combination of a braking element with a shaft carrying a series of parallel, contacting wire fabr c annuli under transverse compression, the exposed edges of such annuli constituting a friction surface and bein in cooperative relationship to said brakin e ement.

10. 11 an automobile brake, the combination of abraking element with an axle carrying a cylindrical series of parallel, contacting disks of wire fabric, the edges of said disks forming a circumferential friction surface in cooperative relationship to said hraking element.

11. In an automobile brake, the combina tion of an axle carrying a sleeve provided with an encircling annular series of wire fabric layers, exposed edges of said layers forming a circumferential iction surface, with a braking element in cooperative relationship to said friction surface.

12. In a braking element, the combination of a sleeve, a collar rigid therewith, a follower collar movably mounted thereon, a series of wire fabric 'annuli encircling said sleeve between said collars and transverse tension means maintaining said annuli in a state of compression between said collars.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in the presence of two subscribing w tnesses.

,WILLIAM T. BONNER. Witnesses:

JAS. BUOKMAN, R. F. BUTLER. 

